


The Ex-Catchers Club

by paperwar



Category: Major (Anime)
Genre: Asian Character, Baseball, Chromatic Character, Chromatic Source, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-24
Updated: 2010-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-14 02:08:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/144171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperwar/pseuds/paperwar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Goro's always been a pain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ex-Catchers Club

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kantayra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kantayra/gifts).



"He's selfish! He doesn't think about anyone but himself!" Tashiro said, thumping his fist on the table.

Komori made a twisting gesture with his hands. "He just wants to win so much. He just gets impatient."

Shimizu, halfway through a mouthful of her iced mocha, almost choked. "Impatient! That's no reason to be a jerk! Remember how angry he was when you got injured? As if you didn't feel bad enough already!" She raised a finger, jabbing at the air in emphasis. "And then when everyone else was too scared to try to catch his pitches, he didn't think I could do it! He didn't want to stick around and help me try!"

Tashiro nodded. "That's exactly what I mean," he said. "So he was like that all the way back in Little League, huh? What happened?" He turned to Komori. "Did you manage to catch during the game?"

Tashiro had met some of Goro's old teammates when he was in America for the World Cup, but this was his first time meeting the self-effacing catcher from Goro's first team. He'd been out shopping this bright Saturday morning when he ran into Shimizu, on her way to catch up with Komori over coffee, and was persuaded to join them.

Shimizu slammed her glass down. "Komori? No, it was me! After a million of Goro's pitches, I was finally able to catch them." She had a glint in her eye. "What, you didn't think I would've been able to do it?"

Coughing slightly, Tashiro waved a hand in denial. "No, no, that wasn't it..."

"Shimizu-san did great!" Komori interjected brightly. "Even Goro-kun couldn't be upset with her."

"Ah, so you admit he is a picky jerk, then?" Tashiro said, provoking a snicker from Shimizu and more hand-waving denials from Komori.

"Listen," Tashiro said, leaning in. "Maybe it's good that he's a jerk. You can't claw your way up to the majors without being one, I think." He leaned back again and smirked. "Doesn't mean we can't make fun of him for it, though."

"How is he doing, anyway?" Komori asked, turning to Shimizu. "Do you hear from him much when he's in America?"

Shimizu's shoulders sagged. "No, not really." She took out her phone in what was clearly a reflexive action, checking for messages and sighing when there were none. "I hear more from the sports papers about him than from him directly." She sighed again. "He's very busy."

Before she could wallow too much, she felt a tap on her shoulder and whirled around to find Toshi, of all people, smiling down at her.

"Toshi! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, face brightening.

"I'm meeting my sister," he said. "I see you like this cafe too. It's her favorite." Before he could make a polite excuse and go sit elsewhere, Shimizu did the introductions. Toshi knew Komori, of course, and Tashiro embarrassed Toshi by recognizing him as one of the rising stars of the Tokyo Warriors.

"We were just talking about Goro," Shimizu said. Toshi pulled out a chair and sat down, facing the front of the cafe so he'd be sure to see Miho when she came in.

Shimizu giggled. "Look at us," she said. "A whole bunch of Goro's catchers, all in one place. We're like a little club."

"And actually," Tashiro said, "we were talking about what a giant pain in the ass he is. Especially if you're his catcher." He arched an eyebrow at Toshi. "So, do you have any stories to share?"

Toshi seemed slightly taken aback. "He taught me how to play baseball. I wouldn't be here without him." He paused. "That's not to say he's not a completely stubborn person."

"Ha!" Tashiro banged the table in triumph. Their cups and glasses clattered. "I knew it. No one can catch for Goro without wanting to throttle the guy. Even you, admit it." This last was directed at Komori, who shrugged, but seemed unwilling to keep the argument going.

Toshi looked down at the table, trying without much success to smother a smile himself. "Maybe that's true," he said, "but I also think it's true that no one is able to play on the same team with Goro without being inspired to try harder."

The table was silent as the others considered this.

"Well," Tashiro said, "he's got a good side, after all."

**Author's Note:**

> To my dear recipient -- this has pretty much nothing from your favorite character lists or your prompts, but I hope it gives you a bit of a laugh anyway. Goro being stupid is always worth at least one chuckle, perhaps...


End file.
